The grey-crowned Central American squirrel monkey (''Saimiri oerstedii citrinellus'') is a subspecies of the Central American squirrel monkey. Its range is restricted to the

Pacific The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the contine ...

coast of central Costa Rica. The northern end of its range is the Rio Tulin and the southern end of its range is the Rio Grande de Terraba. South of the Rio Grande de Terraba, it is replaced by the black-crowned Central American squirrel monkey, ''S. oerstedii oerstedii''. Populations are very fragmented, and the subspecies does not occur in all locations within its general range. It is the subspecies of Central American squirrel monkey seen in

Manuel Antonio National Park Manuel Antonio National Park ( es, Parque Nacional Manuel Antonio) is a small national park in the Central Pacific Conservation Area located on the Pacific coast of Costa Rica, just south of the city of Quepos, Puntarenas, and from the nation ...

in Costa Rica. The grey-crowned Central American squirrel monkey is orange or reddish-orange in color, with a black cap. It differs from the black-crowned Central American squirrel monkey in that the limbs and underparts of the grey-crowned Central American squirrel monkey are less yellowish. Some authorities also consider the cap on the grey-crowned Central American squirrel monkey to be less black than that of the black-crowned Central American squirrel monkey, but other authorities regard this as a feature that varies by age rather than by subspecies. Adults reach a length of between , excluding tail, and a weight between . The tail is longer than the body, and between in length. Males have an average body weight of and females have an average body weight of . The grey-crowned Central American squirrel monkey is

arboreal Arboreal locomotion is the locomotion of animals in trees. In habitats in which trees are present, animals have evolved to move in them. Some animals may scale trees only occasionally, but others are exclusively arboreal. The habitats pose nu ...

and diurnal. It lives in groups containing several adult males, several adult females and juveniles. It is

omnivorous An omnivore () is an animal that has the ability to eat and survive on both plant and animal matter. Obtaining energy and nutrients from plant and animal matter, omnivores digest carbohydrates, protein, fat, and fiber, and metabolize the nut ...

, with a diet that includes insects and insect larvae (especially grasshoppers and caterpillars), spiders, fruit, leaves, bark, flowers and nectar. It also eats small

vertebrate Vertebrates () comprise all animal taxa within the subphylum Vertebrata () (chordates with backbones), including all mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, and fish. Vertebrates represent the overwhelming majority of the phylum Chordata, with c ...

s, including bats, birds, lizards and frogs. It finds its food foraging through the lower and middle levels of the forest. The grey-crowned Central American squirrel monkey was assessed by the

International Union for Conservation of Nature The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN; officially International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources) is an international organization working in the field of nature conservation and sustainable use of nat ...

(IUCN) as

Endangered An endangered species is a species that is very likely to become extinct in the near future, either worldwide or in a particular political jurisdiction. Endangered species may be at risk due to factors such as habitat loss, poaching and in ...

. This was an improvement from prior assessments, in which the subspecies was assessed as "critically endangered". It is listed as endangered to a small and severely fragmented range amounting to only about , and continuing habitat loss. There are conservation efforts within Costa Rica to try to preserve this monkey from extinction.

References

External links

Titi Conservation Alliance
{{Taxonbar, from=Q5471277 Squirrel monkeys Squirrel Monkey, Central American Endemic fauna of Costa Rica Mammals described in 1904 Taxa named by Oldfield Thomas Endangered fauna of North America